The Force and Motion Foundationis a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose purpose is to support students in fields related to multi-axis force measurement and testing. Fully funded by AMTI, The Foundation awards travel grants and academic scholarships to aid promising graduate students on their paths to becoming the scientific leaders of tomorrow. The Foundation also serves as creator and curator of the Virtual Poster Session, an international resource for information exchange and networking within the academic community.

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Since its inception, The Foundation has granted $190,000.00 in academic scholarships and $34,000.00 in travel awards

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FORCE & MOTION FOUNDATION $10,000 SCHOLARSHIP

The Academic Scholarship is now offered in cooperation with the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS)

Recent Posters

Residual stresses are known to exist in human intervertebral discs but have not been incorporated in finite element models. A multigeneration model was applied to the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc to simulate residual stresses arising from growth and remodeling. The intervertebral disc shape and compressive creep were used to verify that the multigeneration approach generates realistic values of residual stress. The model was then validated by comparing its 6 degree-of-freedom mechanical response to experimental data. Human intervertebral discs were tested in a custom-built hexapod in all 6 degrees-of-freedom (lateral shear, anterior-posterior shear, torsion, bending, flexion, and compression). Incorporating residual stresses resulted in a finite element model which can predict 4 degrees-of-freedom while excluding residual stresses produces a finite element model that can only predict 2 degrees-of-freedom.

Disc function is mechanical, and measures of disc mechanical function are important to address spine function, degenerative disc disease, and low back pain. In vivo measures of disc mechanical function are needed, however the current standard in disc imaging is to acquire a single static image and classify the disc’s appearance using qualitative integer scales for degree of degeneration. Current grading standards are acknowledged as insufficient to identify symptomatic discs for treatment. In addition, static T2 weighted MRI cannot provide mechanical function information – mechanics must be measured as the change following a load or deformation perturbation. Because the disc experiences significant compression and height loss throughout the day, and because flexion-extension postures are often associated with low back pain, these physiological mechanical perturbations have potential to be used to quantify disc mechanics in vivo. The objective of this study was to use MRI-based methods to quantify in vivo disc function by measuring changes in disc geometry and T2 relaxation time with diurnal changes and with controllable posture. Quantification of in vivo disc mechanics by using diurnal loading or prescribed posture changes has potential to improve our ability to identify, evaluate, and treat degenerative disc disease. Symptomatic discs may have aberrant mechanics; if so, in vivo measurements of mechanical function may, with continued development, facilitate diagnosis of pathological discs.

Knowledge of ligamentous contributions to joint stability is essential to restore normal joint range of motion and functionality through reconstruction procedures. Although, there has been numerous studies on the pathomechanics of the elbow joint, there have been very few rigorous and systematic attempts to characterize the roles of soft tissues during clinically relevant motions.
Five fresh frozen cadaveric elbows from three male subjects were used for this study. In-vitro simulations were performed using a VIVO six degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) joint motion simulator (AMTI, Watertown, MA) capable of virtually simulating the effects of soft tissue constraints (virtual ligaments). This study introduces a unique, hybrid experimental-computational technique for measuring and simulating the biomechanical contributions of ligaments to elbow joint kinematics and stability. In vitro testing of cadaveric joints is enhanced by the incorporation of fully parametric virtual ligaments, which are used in place of the native joint stabilizers to characterize the contribution of elbow ligaments during simple flexion-extension motions using the principle of superposition.
our results demonstrate the importance of AMCL and RCL structures as primary stabilizers under valgus and varus loading respectively. Virtual ligaments demonstrate the ability to restore the VV stability of the joint in the absence of any soft tissues attached to the osseous structures. This demonstrates the effectiveness of “virtual” ligaments for in vitro testing of elbow joint biomechanics, with applications in pre-clinical assessment of elbow implants.